FEARLESS TRAVELER

Travelers headed for the Southwest this summer will find an unusual festival of Indian tribal arts that is within easy reach of four Indian reservations and the Grand Canyon.

Beginning Friday, the sixth annual 1986 Festival of Native American Arts will be held through Aug. 3 at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, Ariz. It celebrates the talents of Indian artists, actors, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, poets and craftsmen from Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

Flagstaff is a logical jumping-off point for exploring a number of Indian reservations, as well as the Grand Canyon -- all less than 100 miles away. The Hopi and Navajo reservations are to the northeast, the Hualapai and Havasupai reservations to the northwest and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the north.

Last year the festival drew more than 10,000 visitors, who came to attend films and plays by Indians, and to view works of Navajo, Zuni, Apache, Havasupai, San Juan Paiute and other tribal artists and craftsmen -- many of which will again be on sale at the center. (Most of the craft demonstrations are scheduled during the weekends.) There will also be demonstrations of Indian food preparation and a fashion show.

*Recipient of a grant from the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the festival is cosponsored by the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Native Americans for Community Action (NACA). NACA is a nonprofit corporation, based in Flagstaff and operated primarily by Indians, that seeks to promote the self-sufficiency of American Indians in Coconino County through economic development. A major aim of NACA is to encourage the "appreciation and perpetuation of the arts and culture of Native Americans," according to Dian Magie, director of the festival.

Among weekend events scheduled on the festival program:

Native American Food Ways. Northern Arizona plants used as food and spices will be shown and the preparation of traditional dishes demonstrated. The $2 admission covers the half-day session and a recipe book; June 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and June 22, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Outdoor Indian Market. Visitors can purchase artwork and crafts directly from the painters, potters, jewelers and weavers at more than 35 booths. The market is held under the pines on the grounds of the center. Navajo tacos and Indian fried bread will be sold at food stands. Free admission; June 28 and 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cochiti Storyteller Pottery. A demonstration of the construction of storyteller dolls. Each storyteller is surrounded by an audience of dolls representing frolicking children in a variety of poses, depicting how children used to learn the beliefs and history of the tribe. Free admission; July 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

San Juan Paiute Basket Workshop. Weaving of willow baskets. Admission to the demonstration is free, but there is a $5 materials fee for those interested in learning to make a basket; July 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Native American Clothing, Traditional and Contemporary. A fashion show with Indians modeling examples of dress and accessories of tribes from around the nation. Admission $5 for adults, $1 for children under 12; July 26 and 27, 4 p.m.

The festival has been selected by the Arizona Commission on the Arts as one of the state's 1986-87 Touring Exhibitions. On Thursday, commission members will select items from the show to be included in an exhibition to be displayed later in other Arizona cities. "This is an excellent example of a small local arts agency effectively representing its region," says a spokesperson for the National Endowment.

The festival will be open to the public from 9 to 5 daily. Admission to many of the presentations is free.

The Museum of Northern Arizona, just outside Flagstaff, is also open daily 9 to 5 and will be presenting its own annual exhibitions of Hopi and Navajo craftsmen. This program also begins on June 20 and ends Aug. 10. There is an admission ($3 adults, $1.50 for children 12 and under) to the museum, which covers both the permanent collection devoted primarily to the history of the Anazasi Indians and the special annual exhibitions.

KUTZTOWN TIME: "Es essa gude" means "it eats good" in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect -- and plenty of "gude essa" (good food) is one of the many things you can count on at the 37th annual Kutztown Folk Festival.

The celebration, to run from June 28 through July 6, will be held daily at the fairgrounds in Kutztown, Pa. Demonstrations will include sheep shearing, horse-shoeing, flintlock musket shooting, butchering, metalcasting in sand and quilting. (More than 1,600 handmade quilts will also be for sale.) Visitors can join in square-dancing, jigging and hoedowning. Stage shows will feature the Heidelberg Polka Band, a Pennsylvania Dutch band with local singers, a Lancaster County humorist, a country auction and talks on the area's culture.

Dressed in typical costumes and located in tents and buildings around the 36-acre fairgrounds, craftsmen will demonstrate the art of woodturning, glass blowing, tole painting (painting on tin), pottery making, rush seating (using rushes to weave chair seats) and basket weaving. Products also will be for sale, as will many Pennsylvania Dutch food specialties.

Gates are open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $6 for adults and $3 children under 12, plus a $2 fee for parking on the grounds. From Washington, it's a 4 1/2-hour drive, via I-95 to Baltimore's Beltway (Rte. 695) to I-83. Continue past York to Harrisburg, picking up I-81 and then I-78 East (Rte. 22 East), exiting at Rte. 737 (see Kutztown University sign) and continuing south six miles into Kutztown. It's a very small town, and police will be directing traffic to the festival grounds.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? If you don't know the difference between "bulk fare" (it's not a health food diet) and an ITX (no relation to AT&T), a copy of "Let's Talk Travel" may prove useful.

The brochure, published by the Institute of Certified Travel Agents in Wellesley, Mass., is a glossary of some of the most commonly used abbreviations and jargon in the travel industry. The list explains terms like "Add-On" (that's a supplement -- for example, an air/sea package may specify different air fare add-ons to the cruise fare, depending on the city of departure) and "Open Jaw" (look it up).

The glossary is available free from the institute, along with a list of local CTC agents (the CTC designation is awarded to travel agents with five or more years experience who have completed a graduate level travel management program over a minimum of 18 months). Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "CTC Travel Glossary," Institute of Certified Travel Agents, 148 Linden St., P.O. Box 56, Wellesley, Mass. 02181.